Starting Slow

[Ring 6]

Pats are playing with fire by constantly allowing playoff teams to take leads from them. If it happens again in 2 weeks, they're going to get burned.

Why?
I mean sure it’s better to play from ahead but why would next game be any different?

 

[Tony2046]

They are hesitant to open the playbook too early ...

It works ... but it is tough on my nerves - I age at least a month for every game they play.

First quarter:

1. Make the opposing defense burn as much energy as possible.
2. Run scripted plays to see how the opposing defense responds. If it results in points, great, if not find the matchups.

Second quarter:

1. Make the opposing defense burn as much energy as possible.
2. Start taking advantage of match ups.

Third quarter:

1. Make the opposing defense burn as much energy as possible.
2. Put a few more points on the board.

Fourth quarter:

1. Watch all the huffing and puffing the opposing defense is doing and break their freaking hearts.

 

[Patstopia]

Not to be too repetitive but football is like a war and the other side gets a vote. Not every game will be a blow out nor every quarter a route, not every play a first down. Plans change, plays are adjusted and tried again others are skipped and others are tried and hopefully succeed. Some are one time blockbusters, others are tiny tweaks.

The best thing the Pats do is adjust, so every play that doesn't work will be looked at and evaluated as the game progresses. Some games the game plan is going to be spectacular other are a flop. But, always there are adjustments and for the Pats this century the adjustments are usually good enough to win, except of course in Miami.

 

[dustcover]

Yeah, a blowout Superbowl win would be awesome. And after making this fanbase truly suffer through every other Superbowl appearance, taking years off our lives, we surely deserve an easy Superbowl win...

#patsfansproblems

" after making this fan base truly suffer through every other Superbowl appearance, taking years off our lives, we surely deserve an easy Superbowl win..."

it's comments like this that make other teams' fans view New England fans as entitled, indolent, and spoiled. And God knows they may be right. God bless BB and TB12!

 

[IllegalContact]

https://sports.theonion.com/fired-up-patriots-ready-to-give-full-60-maybe-70-agai-1822266062

FOXBOROUGH, MA—Assuring that the team knew exactly what it would take to win, fired-up Patriots players told reporters Sunday they were ready to give a full 60, maybe 70 percent against Jacksonville. “We are pumped for this showdown, and the Jags are going to see two-thirds, maybe three-fourths of our best—if the game seems close,” said Rob Gronkowski, who revealed the Patriots have been going pretty decently hard in practice all week while devoting whole minutes to watching game tape on the Jaguars defense. “It’s going to take nothing less than perfectly average execution to prevail today. Coach [Belichick] got us jacked up when he told us that if want to get past Jacksonville, he was going to need our B, or possibly B-minus game.” Gronkowski added that he wouldn’t be happy with his performance today unless he left about half of what he has out on the field.

 

[BTTA]

Why do they continuosly come out flat? No idea. It's not a normal habit for a BB led team.

One of the players said they came out flat in this game and he didn't understand why.

 

[Tony2046]

I think you hit the nail on the head here.

By this point in time, most likely the Super Bowl opponent has more physical talent than the Patriots. This isn't a knock on the Patriots, it's a reality -- 1) Belichick has openly said in the past that he prefers someone who is selfless, knows and follows the system than someone slightly more talented who doesn't do that, and 2) the Patriots have not had "their own" 1st round draft pick better than pick 28 since the 2009 draft, and the Patriots do not normally chase after the marquee big-money free agent talent.

Their opponent is psyched to be in the Super Bowl, has spent 2 weeks game planning, and comes out guns ablazing. Scheming doesn't fully help in situations like this - especially when despite all that planning, you're finally learning what your opponent is actually going to do.

As the game goes on, that's when the Patriots' advantage starts to seep in. By then, they truly know what the opponent is trying to do so can adjust better, the opponent shot their load early and is now getting a bit tired while the well-conditioned Patriots keep bringing it to them, and sooner or later their coaches or players will mess up on what we consider fundamentals here -- clock management, penalty discipline, scheme discipline - that generally isn't tolerated here.

Factor all that in, and you get the Patriots slow starts, roaring finishes.

I'd only add that I think the way they handle the salary cap has an impact as well. Solid depth vs high dollar stars.

 

[Richard Camembert]

First quarter:

1. Make the opposing defense burn as much energy as possible.
2. Run scripted plays to see how the opposing defense responds. If it results in points, great, if not find the matchups.

Second quarter:

1. Make the opposing defense burn as much energy as possible.
2. Start taking advantage of match ups.

Third quarter:

1. Make the opposing defense burn as much energy as possible.
2. Put a few more points on the board.

Fourth quarter:

1. Watch all the huffing and puffing the opposing defense is doing and break their freaking hearts.

I think this is it. BB often talks about how it takes more energy to play man than zone and the D clearly conserves energy in spots by playing a lot of zone. I don’t think it’s planned that they come out flat, and I think that it’s not accurate to say they train better than the other team; it’s just they defend to save energy for the end. Same with running the ball a lot at the start, which tires the opposing D more.

 

[RIpats88]

I just hate how the pats play mobile Quarterbacks. we saw it against bortles, we've seen Geno smith gash us. Sit back in their zone and have a contained pass rush. Im just glad that Foles is mainly a pocket passer so the pats can pin down.

it wasnt until later in the 3rd/4th when they realized they needed to start blitzing bortles to get him off his game.

 

[RayClay]

I have to laugh that, not only is winning assumed, but we need to choose the type of win. Hilarious. Believe it or not, we used to struggle for the division or wild card,then maybe have to win every game on the road. Maybe we should send a postcard to Belichick suggesting how many points they should score in each quarter.

 

[Observer]

One of the players said they came out flat in this game and he didn't understand why.

Bye week blues. Super Bowl is also after a bye week.

 

[RayClay]

" after making this fan base truly suffer through every other Superbowl appearance, taking years off our lives, we surely deserve an easy Superbowl win..."

it's comments like this that make other teams' fans view New England fans as entitled, indolent, and spoiled. And God knows they may be right. God bless BB and TB12!

Gawd and all his children knows, winning is expected and never enough.

 

[richie021501]

I have to laugh that, not only is winning assumed, but we need to choose the type of win. Hilarious. Believe it or not, we used to struggle for the division or wild card,then maybe have to win every game on the road. Maybe we should send a postcard to Belichick suggesting how many points they should score in each quarter.

I'm not sure who you're directing this towards. If you're directing this towards me then you completely missed my point. I could care less how the pats win as long as they win. If they suck for 3 quarters and come back to win on the 4th I'm perfectly fine with that. My point is that it, if they're down by multiple scores late, they're likely not coming back. It's hard for me to see them making a miracle comeback 3 super bowls in a row. At some point, this business of saving their best for last is going to catch up to them. This isn't about how they win, it's about putting themselves in the best position so that they can get the win. I'm hoping the pats play a solid 4 quarters.

If this wasn't towards me then my mistake, carry on

 

[RayClay]

If one of the teams should be soul searching, shouldn't it be the one who was seemingly dominating most of the game, yet could only score 20 points? Quick google says 29 points is average for a winner.

 

[RayClay]

I'm not sure who you're directing this towards. If you're directing this towards me then you completely missed my point. I could care less how the pats win as long as they win. If they suck for 3 quarters and come back to win on the 4th I'm perfectly fine with that. My point is that it, if they're down by multiple scores late, they're likely not coming back. It's hard for me to see them making a miracle comeback 3 super bowls in a row. At some point, this business of saving their best for last is going to catch up to them. This isn't about how they win, it's about putting themselves in the best position so that they can get the win. I'm hoping the pats play a solid 4 quarters.

If this wasn't towards me then my mistake, carry on

Well, it's toward a lot of newer fans. You just said if the Patriots keep winning like they in fact have been winning, they are bound to lose. I can't see how that makes any sense. Have you ever watched a championship fight? Sometimes one guy comes out throwing punches, dancing and mugging for the crowd. Unless there's a knockout, the later rounds are often for the smarter, fresher fighter.

There are such things as adjustments and if a young team blows their wad in the first half, they've shown the opposing team all their best plays.

The argument seems to be that scoring big early means you're going to win, but coming from behind is always luck and can't last.

I disagree.

 

[richie021501]

If one of the teams should be soul searching, shouldn't it be the one who was seemingly dominating most of the game, yet could only score 20 points? Quick google says 29 points is average for a winner.

I guess you could look at it that way but I'd still rather us play a complete 60 minutes lol

 

[richie021501]

Well, it's toward a lot of newer fans. You just said if the Patriots keep winning like they in fact have been winning, they are bound to lose. I can't see how that makes any sense. Have you ever watched a championship fight? Sometimes one guy comes out throwing punches, dancing and mugging for the crowd. Unless there's a knockout, the later rounds are often for the smarter, fresher fighter.

There are such things as adjustments and if a young team blows their wad in the first half, they've shown the opposing team all their best plays.

The argument seems to be that scoring big early means you're going to win, but coming from behind is always luck and can't last.

I disagree.

Well I've been a fan since about 94 or so so I guess it likely wasn't towards me lol

But in response to your last sentence, that wasn't my argument. Playing great early and crappy late is almost the same to me as playing crappy early and great late. I wanna see the pats play a full 60 minutes of solid football. Mistakes are going to happen, they're never going to play perfect but they should be able to limit mistakes and play good for 4 quarters. If they don't and still win then I'm perfectly fine with that but it's hard for me to see them winning 3 super bowls in a row with huge late comebacks.

You can disagree, it's just my opinion. I know the pats are better then any other team at making adjustments but I'm still hoping for a solid 60 minutes.

 

[RayClay]

I guess you could look at it that way but I'd still rather us play a complete 60 minutes lol

My point is, they were playing and coaching all 60 minutes. All sports are usually a small difference in points, but that's because it was enouh points to win. The Russell Celtics were also supposed to lose every year beacuse other teams were so athletic, all star, etc. an amazing amount of their games came down to the last seconds and they almost always won.

Bill Russell, for example, could not physically stop Chamberlain,who was much bigger faster and stronger. He used to let Chamberlain shoot from his favorite position some games all 48 minutes. In crunch time, Chamberlain would come in for his gimme that couldn't be stopped and Russell would pounce and swat it for a fast break. Tendencies, adjustments, stamina etc. often the difference.

If Pats game plan catches Philly off guard, they'll score some points and Phill will try to adjust. There's no trophy for winning the 1st quarter - 60 minutes.

 

[RayClay]

We all would like to score 30 points a quarter. In the SB, you usually have a great team that will contest that.

 

[richie021501]

My point is, they were playing and coaching all 60 minutes. All sports are usually a small difference in points, but that's because it was enouh points to win. The Russell Celtics were also supposed to lose every year beacuse other teams were so athletic, all star, etc. an amazing amount of their games came down to the last seconds and they almost always won.

Bill Russell, for example, could not physically stop Chamberlain,who was much bigger faster and stronger. He used to let Chamberlain shoot from his favorite position some games all 48 minutes. In crunch time, Chamberlain would come in for his gimme that couldn't be stopped and Russell would pounce and swat it for a fast break. Tendencies, adjustments, stamina etc. often the difference.

If Pats game plan catches Philly off guard, they'll score some points and Phill will try to adjust. There's no trophy for winning the 1st quarter - 60 minutes.

I see where you're coming from. I get that it's likely to be a close game regardless. I'm not saying we have to win the first quarter, I just want to see the pats go down big late. Down by more then a TD in the 4th quarter is tough to come back from in the super bowl. I know the pats have done it twice, but that doesn't mean it's easy to do. How many teams had done that before the pats in super bowl 49? 0 I believe. It's not easy to do. Despite recent history, I feel like the odds are still not in the pats favor in that situation despite their ability to make adjustments on the fly.